Transport by Road in Europe of Plutonium and MOX Fuel Assemblies

For obvious reasons related to the sensitive nature of plutonium, its transport is a delicate activity in which safety and security aspects must be examined carefully. Plutonium transports have started with the beginning of nuclear energy, but with the extension of LA HAGUE reprocessing plant and the quick development of recycling programs in Belgium, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and France, these transports have recently reached an industrial stage. This has only been made possible by : - developing new equipments (packagings and transport vehicles) specifically designed to carry out these transports, - mastering problems connected to physical protection in agreement with the instructions issued by the Competent Authorities of the countries involved with a view to ensure the material's protecti6n against any attack or attempts of diversion, - setting-up elaborate procedures according to which these transports must be carried out, with a view to ensure the utmost control over the movements of fissile materials, to provide confidentiality, and to allow the fastest reaction time in emergency. This paper deals with the transport of plutonium extracted from the spent fuel reprocessed in the COGEMA La Hague and Marcoule plants, and assigned for the recycling programs decided by the European utilities in their light water reactors (MOX fuel assemblies), or in the fast breeder reactors.